Software Development

Life Cycle (SDLC) and

Models
Youve got to be very careful if you dont
know where youre going, because you might
not get there.

Rizwana Naz Asif

 SDLC Model
A framework that describes the activities
performed at each stage of a software
development project.
Waterfall Model
Requirements defines
needed information, function,
behavior, performance and
interfaces.
Design data structures,
software architecture, interface
representations, algorithmic
details.
Implementation source
code, database, user
documentation, testing.
 Waterfall Strengths
Easy to understand, easy to use
Provides structure to inexperienced staff
Milestones are well understood
Sets requirements stability
Good for management control (plan, staff, track)
Works well when quality is more important than
cost or schedule
 Waterfall Deficiencies
All requirements must be known upfront
Deliverables created for each phase are
considered frozen inhibits flexibility
Can give a false impression of progress
Does not reflect problem-solving nature of
software development iterations of phases
Integration is one big bang at the end
Little opportunity for customer to preview the
system (until it may be too late)
 When to use the Waterfall Model
Requirements are very well known
Product definition is stable
Technology is understood
New version of an existing product
Porting an existing product to a new platform.
V-Shaped SDLC Model
A variant of the Waterfall
that emphasizes the
verification and validation
of the product.
Testing of the product is
planned in parallel with a
corresponding phase of
development
 V-Shaped Steps
Project and Requirements Production, operation and
Planning allocate resources maintenance provide for
enhancement and corrections
Product Requirements and System and acceptance testing
Specification Analysis complete check the entire software system
specification of the software in its environment
system

Architecture or High-Level Design Integration and Testing check

defines how software functions that modules interconnect
fulfill the design correctly

Detailed Design develop Unit testing check that each

algorithms for each architectural module acts as expected
component
Coding transform algorithms
into software
 V-Shaped Strengths
Emphasize planning for verification and
validation of the product in early stages of
product development
Each deliverable must be testable
Project management can track progress
by milestones
Easy to use
 V-Shaped Weaknesses
Does not easily handle concurrent events
Does not handle iterations or phases
Does not easily handle dynamic changes
in requirements
Does not contain risk analysis activities
 When to use the V-Shaped Model
Excellent choice for systems requiring high
reliability hospital patient control
applications
All requirements are known up-front
When it can be modified to handle
changing requirements beyond analysis
phase
Solution and technology are known
Structured Evolutionary Prototyping
Model
Developers build a prototype during the
requirements phase
Prototype is evaluated by end users
Users give corrective feedback
Developers further refine the prototype
When the user is satisfied, the prototype
code is brought up to the standards
needed for a final product.
Structured Evolutionary Prototyping
Steps
A preliminary project plan is developed
An partial high-level paper model is created
The model is source for a partial requirements
specification
A prototype is built with basic and critical attributes
The designer builds
the database
user interface
algorithmic functions
The designer demonstrates the prototype, the user
evaluates for problems and suggests improvements.
This loop continues until the user is satisfied
Structured Evolutionary Prototyping
Strengths
Customers can see the system requirements
as they are being gathered
Developers learn from customers
A more accurate end product
Unexpected requirements accommodated
Allows for flexible design and development
Steady, visible signs of progress produced
Interaction with the prototype stimulates
awareness of additional needed functionality
Structured Evolutionary Prototyping
Weaknesses
Tendency to abandon structured program
development for code-and-fix development
Bad reputation for quick-and-dirty methods
Overall maintainability may be overlooked
The customer may want the prototype delivered.
Process may continue forever (scope creep)
 When to use
Structured Evolutionary Prototyping
Requirements are unstable or have to be
clarified
As the requirements clarification stage of a
waterfall model
Develop user interfaces
Short-lived demonstrations
New, original development
With the analysis and design portions of object-
oriented development.
Rapid Application Model (RAD)
Requirements planning phase (a workshop
utilizing structured discussion of business
problems)
User description phase automated tools
capture information from users
Construction phase productivity tools, such as
code generators, screen generators, etc. inside
a time-box. (Do until done)
Cutover phase -- installation of the system, user
acceptance testing and user training
 RAD Strengths
Reduced cycle time and improved productivity
with fewer people means lower costs
Time-box approach mitigates cost and schedule
risk
Customer involved throughout the complete
cycle minimizes risk of not achieving customer
satisfaction and business needs
Focus moves from documentation to code
(WYSIWYG).
Uses modeling concepts to capture information
about business, data, and processes.
 RAD Weaknesses
Accelerated development process must give
quick responses to the user
Risk of never achieving closure
Hard to use with legacy systems
Requires a system that can be modularized
Developers and customers must be committed
to rapid-fire activities in an abbreviated time
frame.
 When to use RAD
Reasonably well-known requirements
User involved throughout the life cycle
Project can be time-boxed
Functionality delivered in increments
High performance not required
Low technical risks
System can be modularized
Incremental SDLC Model
Construct a partial
implementation of a total
system
Then slowly add increased
functionality
The incremental model
prioritizes requirements of the
system and then implements
them in groups.
Each subsequent release of
the system adds function to the
previous release, until all
designed functionality has
been implemented.
 Incremental Model Strengths
Develop high-risk or major functions first
Each release delivers an operational product
Customer can respond to each build
Uses divide and conquer breakdown of tasks
Lowers initial delivery cost
Initial product delivery is faster
Customers get important functionality early
Risk of changing requirements is reduced
Incremental Model Weaknesses
Requires good planning and design
Requires early definition of a complete and
fully functional system to allow for the
definition of increments
Well-defined module interfaces are
required (some will be developed long
before others)
Total cost of the complete system is not
lower
When to use the Incremental Model
Risk, funding, schedule, program complexity, or
need for early realization of benefits.
Most of the requirements are known up-front but
are expected to evolve over time
A need to get basic functionality to the market
early
On projects which have lengthy development
schedules
On a project with new technology
Spiral SDLC Model
Adds risk analysis,
and 4gl RAD
prototyping to the
waterfall model
Each cycle involves
the same sequence of
steps as the waterfall
process model
 Spiral Quadrant
Determine objectives, alternatives and constraints

Objectives: functionality, performance,

hardware/software interface, critical success factors, etc.
Alternatives: build, reuse, buy, sub-contract, etc.
Constraints: cost, schedule, interface, etc.
 Spiral Quadrant
Evaluate alternatives, identify and resolve risks

Study alternatives relative to objectives and constraints

Identify risks (lack of experience, new technology, tight
schedules, poor process, etc.
Resolve risks (evaluate if money could be lost by
continuing system development
 Spiral Quadrant
Develop next-level product
Typical activites:
Create a design
Review design
Develop code
Inspect code
Test product
 Spiral Quadrant
Plan next phase
Typical activities
Develop project plan
Develop configuration management plan
Develop a test plan
Develop an installation plan
 Spiral Model Strengths
Provides early indication of insurmountable
risks, without much cost
Users see the system early because of rapid
prototyping tools
Critical high-risk functions are developed first
The design does not have to be perfect
Users can be closely tied to all lifecycle steps
Early and frequent feedback from users
Cumulative costs assessed frequently
 Spiral Model Weaknesses
Time spent for evaluating risks too large for small or low-
risk projects
Time spent planning, resetting objectives, doing risk
analysis and prototyping may be excessive
The model is complex
Risk assessment expertise is required
Spiral may continue indefinitely
Developers must be reassigned during non-development
phase activities
May be hard to define objective, verifiable milestones
that indicate readiness to proceed through the next
iteration
 When to use Spiral Model
When creation of a prototype is appropriate
When costs and risk evaluation is important
For medium to high-risk projects
Long-term project commitment unwise because
of potential changes to economic priorities
Users are unsure of their needs
Requirements are complex
New product line
Significant changes are expected (research and
exploration)
 Agile SDLCs
Speed up or bypass one or more life cycle
phases
Usually less formal and reduced scope
Used for time-critical applications
Used in organizations that employ
disciplined methods
 Some Agile Methods
Adaptive Software Development (ASD)
Feature Driven Development (FDD)
Crystal Clear
Dynamic Software Development Method
(DSDM)
Rapid Application Development (RAD)
Scrum
Extreme Programming (XP)
Rational Unify Process (RUP)
 Extreme Programming - XP
For small-to-medium-sized teams
developing software with vague or rapidly
changing requirements
Coding is the key activity throughout a
software project
Communication among teammates is
done with code
Life cycle and behavior of complex objects
defined in test cases again in code
 XP Practices (1-6)
1. Planning game determine scope of the next release
by combining business priorities and technical
estimates
2. Small releases put a simple system into production,
then release new versions in very short cycle
3. Metaphor all development is guided by a simple
shared story of how the whole system works
4. Simple design system is designed as simply as
possible (extra complexity removed as soon as found)
5. Testing programmers continuously write unit tests;
customers write tests for features
6. Refactoring programmers continuously restructure
the system without changing its behavior to remove
duplication and simplify
 XP Practices (7 12)
7. Pair-programming -- all production code is written with
two programmers at one machine
8. Collective ownership anyone can change any code
anywhere in the system at any time.
9. Continuous integration integrate and build the
system many times a day every time a task is
completed.
10. 40-hour week work no more than 40 hours a week
as a rule
11. On-site customer a user is on the team and available
full-time to answer questions
12. Coding standards programmers write all code in
accordance with rules emphasizing communication
through the code
 XP is extreme because
Commonsense practices taken to extreme levels

If code reviews are good, review code all the time (pair
programming)
If testing is good, everybody will test all the time
If simplicity is good, keep the system in the simplest design that
supports its current functionality. (simplest thing that works)
If design is good, everybody will design daily (refactoring)
If architecture is important, everybody will work at defining and
refining the architecture (metaphor)
If integration testing is important, build and integrate test several
times a day (continuous integration)
If short iterations are good, make iterations really, really short (hours
rather than weeks)
 Feature Driven Design (FDD)
Five FDD process activities
1. Develop an overall model Produce class and sequence
diagrams from chief architect meeting with domain experts
and developers.
2. Build a features list Identify all the features that support
requirements. The features are functionally decomposed
into Business Activities steps within Subject Areas.
Features are functions that can be developed in two
weeks and expressed in client terms with the template:
<action> <result> <object>
i.e. Calculate the total of a sale
3. Plan by feature -- the development staff plans the
development sequence of features
4. Design by feature -- the team produces sequence diagrams
for the selected features
5. Build by feature the team writes and tests the code
Dynamic Systems Development Method
(DSDM)

Applies a framework for RAD and short time

frames

Paradigm is the 80/20 rule

majority of the requirements can be
delivered in a relatively short amount of
time.
 DSDM Principles
1. Active user involvement imperative (Ambassador
users)
2. DSDM teams empowered to make decisions
3. Focus on frequent product delivery
4. Product acceptance is fitness for business purpose
5. Iterative and incremental development - to converge
on a solution
6. Requirements initially agreed at a high level
7. All changes made during development are reversible
8. Testing is integrated throughout the life cycle
9. Collaborative and co-operative approach among all
stakeholders essential
 DSDM Lifecycle
Feasibility study
Business study prioritized requirements
Functional model iteration
risk analysis
Time-box plan
Design and build iteration
Implementation
 Adaptive SDLC
Combines RAD with software engineering
best practices
Project initiation
Adaptive cycle planning
Concurrent component engineering
Quality review
Final QA and release
 Adaptive Steps
1. Project initialization determine intent of
project
2. Determine the project time-box (estimation
duration of the project)
3. Determine the optimal number of cycles and
the time-box for each
4. Write an objective statement for each cycle
5. Assign primary components to each cycle
6. Develop a project task list
7. Review the success of a cycle
8. Plan the next cycle
 Tailored SDLC Models
Any one model does not fit all projects
If there is nothing that fits a particular project,
pick a model that comes close and modify it for
your needs.
Project should consider risk but complete spiral
too much start with spiral & pare it done
Project delivered in increments but there are
serious reliability issues combine incremental
model with the V-shaped model
Each team must pick or customize a SDLC
model to fit its project
 Quality the degree to which the software
satisfies stated and implied requirements

Absence of system crashes

Correspondence between the software and the users
expectations
Performance to specified requirements

Quality must be controlled because it lowers production

speed, increases maintenance costs and can adversely
affect business
 Quality Assurance Plan

The plan for quality assurance activities should be in

writing
Decide if a separate group should perform the quality
assurance activities
Some elements that should be considered by the plan
are: defect tracking, unit testing, source-code tracking,
technical reviews, integration testing and system testing.
 Quality Assurance Plan

Defect tracing keeps track of each defect found, its

source, when it was detected, when it was resolved, how
it was resolved, etc
Unit testing each individual module is tested
Source code tracing step through source code line by
line
Technical reviews completed work is reviewed by
peers
Integration testing -- exercise new code in combination
with code that already has been integrated
System testing execution of the software for the
purpose of finding defects.